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Episode 280 (19th August 1963)
Plot Sheila waits outside Gamma Garments for Neil to arrive in the morning. When he does, she buttonholes him in the street and he tries to turn on his charm, saying he has work to do but will explain his non-attendance later. He promises to meet her in the Rovers at lunchtime. Jerry is quite cheerful at his work. As he has nothing to save up for now, he decides to go on the Rovers' darts picnic, explaining it's no use moping anymore. Len is pleased about his attitude. Harry has passed his first interview at Amalgamated Steel and has a second one that afternoon. Emily demands that Neil pays the petty cash fund back but he only supplies £2 of the £3 owing. She takes a call from Jud Bates asking for Neil. Doreen hopes it's an alternative job offer for him but Albert informs them that Jud is a bookmaker with a violent reputation. Neil asks Frank to cash another cheque for him and he agrees. Albert warns Frank about Jud and against cashing cheques for Neil. Emily and Doreen are told by head office to reduce all the clear lines by 10% and Neil is nowhere to be seen to assist them. When Jud rings again, Emily loses her temper, her loyalty to her boss at an end. Sheila waits alone in the Rovers. Harry comes back from his interview despondent, having to wait until Wednesday for the result. Frank lends Neil £5. An angry Sheila finds him in Frank's shop and he promises to meet her at 6.10pm outside the shop for a good night out. She's talked round again. Minnie tells Doreen she's worried about Sheila. Emily is cold with Neil when he eventually returns to the shop. Jerry sees that Len is distant in his thoughts. Elsie talks through her relationship with Len to herself and worries that Dennis won't survive on his own. Sheila catches Neil trying to sneak off to avoid taking her out. When she grows hysterical and tells him he's not man enough to finish with her, he slaps her in front Emily, Doreen, Ena and Martha. The women are outraged. Emily immediately phones Mr Papagopolous demanding Neil's removal. Cast Regular cast *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth *Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol *Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Miss Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire *Doreen Lostock - Angela Crow *Sheila Birtles - Eileen Mayers *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Jerry Booth - Graham Haberfield *Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie Guest cast *Neil Crossley - Geoffrey Matthews *Walter Potts - Christopher Sandford (Voice only) Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public *11 Coronation Street - Back room *15 Mawdsley Street - Yard and office *Rosamund Street *Gamma Garments *Frank's DIY Shop Notes *Stock film of a rooftop is used to show Len Fairclough's point of view as he gazes at the sky outside his yard, thinking about Elsie Tanner. *Walter Potts is heard but not seen as he rehearses with Dennis Tanner. *The Beatles, the foremost influential rock group of all time, are name-checked for the very first time in this episode. At this point in their career, they had released three singles and one album but had yet to break the United States of America. Their smash-hit record She Loves You, the best selling single of the 1960s in the United Kingdom, was released four days later. They had made their television debut from Granada's Quay Street studios ten months before on the regional programme People and Places. *From Episode 172 (6th August 1962) to Episode 459 (5th May 1965) the programme featured a standardised cast list for the regular characters. This means that in this episode the following were credited but did not appear: Annie Walker (Doris Speed), Concepta Hewitt (Doreen Keogh), Lucille Hewitt (Jennifer Moss), Valerie Barlow (Anne Reid), Kenneth Barlow (William Roache) and Florrie Lindley (Betty Alberge). *''TV Times'' synopsis: Crossley goes too far, and Miss Nugent reaches the end of her tether *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 7,760,000 homes (1st place). Category:1963 episodes